Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Patience and Perspective

Things have improved with the left calf, but it seems as though the right calf was compensating and is a bit sore. As frustrating as this is, I have to admit I'm grateful that I noticed it sooner (unlike the first time) and have been even more patient than I ever thought I could be. The right calf is NOT going to get torn like the left one was, but I am going to go into Old Goats 50 mile with a bit less mileage than I would usually like.

Around 9500ft Saturday

One thought that's helped me keep the faith, is how absurdly demanding mountain running is, and how lucky I am to still be able to do what I can on my "bad" days. I ran up Bear Canyon in 2:04 on Saturday and talked to an older energetic runner at the top. He asked me my time out of Bear, and eventually figured out I was "the mustache guy" that won Angeles Crest last year. I felt like my time that morning was pretty slow and, that I had a long way to go to get back to a respectable time, but he kept reassuring me that I was really quick.

My perspective is that I want to summit in 1:40 to be able to consider myself in shape for Hardrock. However, the fact that I'm going 5700ft straight up a mountain faster than 3 MPH is a feat in itself. Those trails are steep, have lots of loose rocks, poor footing, and go pretty high up. I've talked to a few hikers and many of them are out there every weekend with trekking poles and packs struggling to maintain 1.5 MPH up those slopes (4 hour ascents). Though I'm not where I want to be at 4 MPH, I'm already twice as fast as a lot of hikers on my bad days..

So, earlier I was complaining about my calf being weak, and not making it up Bear Canyon in under 2 hours, but.. I think I should shut my mouth now.

Katie on a goat trail near Baldy Sunday

Pandas take "kind-of-good" pictures

57 mi, 18,000ft

I'm going to shrink that vert/mile this week, and try to get a little more mileage in the flat. It should help the calf.
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2 comments:

Good to know that you are being patient. It's also important to know what you've been sustaining, what you're capable of, and the combination of your minimal (what you're willing to accept as opposed to your what your highest goal is) capability you've been sustaining. I'm pretty sure that you'll improve as long as you let your body adjust and prepare for the better.

Thanks KChan, it's a weird type of patience. I've had to cross train and force myself to run controlled and take a little fun out of running. I suppose that's the sign of adulthood when you actually are patient for several weeks to achieve a greater joy :)